Local kernel crash via oversized channel count
Published Jul 29, 2024 · Updated May 11, 2026
Out-of-bounds read in cfg80211 in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to crash the system through a crafted wireless scan ioctl. cfg80211_wext_siwscan trusts the user-supplied num_channels field and passes entries beyond the fixed channel list to cfg80211_wext_freq, which reads outside the request allocation. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and a wireless device exposing the legacy SIOCSIWSCAN path; the demonstrated consequence is a kernel crash.
Summary
What happened
Out-of-bounds read in cfg80211 in affected Linux kernel releases allows local users to crash the system through a crafted wireless scan ioctl. cfg80211_wext_siwscan trusts the user-supplied num_channels field and passes entries beyond the fixed channel list to cfg80211_wext_freq, which reads outside the request allocation. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and a wireless device exposing the legacy SIOCSIWSCAN path; the demonstrated consequence is a kernel crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2024-41072
- Published
- Jul 29, 2024
- Updated
- May 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 29, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 11, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=2.6.32
- Affected versionversion=b2e3abdc708f8c0eff194af25362fdb239abe241 <001120ff0c9e3557dee9b5ee0d358e0fc189996f
- Affected versionversion=b2e3abdc708f8c0eff194af25362fdb239abe241 <35cee10ccaee5bd451a480521bbc25dc9f07fa5b
- Affected versionversion=b2e3abdc708f8c0eff194af25362fdb239abe241 <6295bad58f988eaafcf0e6f8b198a580398acb3b
- Affected versionversion=b2e3abdc708f8c0eff194af25362fdb239abe241 <6ef09cdc5ba0f93826c09d810c141a8d103a80fc
- Affected versionversion=b2e3abdc708f8c0eff194af25362fdb239abe241 <a43cc0558530b6c065976b6b9246f512f8d3593b
- Affected versionversion=b2e3abdc708f8c0eff194af25362fdb239abe241 <b02ba9a0b55b762bd04743a22f3d9f9645005e79
- Affected versionversion=b2e3abdc708f8c0eff194af25362fdb239abe241 <de5fcf757e33596eed32de170ce5a93fa44dd2ac
- Affected versionversion=b2e3abdc708f8c0eff194af25362fdb239abe241 <fe9644efd86704afe50e56b64b609de340ab7c95
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- syzkaller C reproducer for cfg80211_wext_freq crashproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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